Verdi: Aida

As a worthy overture for the 13th season of live broadcasts from the Metropolitan, we will see one of Verdi's great masterpieces featuring perhaps the greatest soprano of our day. What makes this performance extra special is the fact that it is Anna Netrebko's first performance at the Met, where she plays the lovely Ethiopian princess who has fallen in love with an enemy warlord. The role of her rival, Amneris, will be sung by the Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili, who was discov...ered by conductor Daniel Barenboim and is blessed with a stunning stage presence. Taking the stage as Radamès, the Egyptian captain of the guard, will be the great Aleksandrs Antonenko, who in the past five or six years has performed in the world's greatest opera houses, including the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where he worked with Nicola Luisotti, the conductor of the Met's grand spectacular performance of Aida. The Italian conductor is the musical director of the San Francisco Opera, and is 'in charge' of the Italian bel canto repertoire at the New York opera house.
Aida's father Amonasro is played by one of the leading performers of Verdi's bass roles, American vocalist Quinn Kelsey, while the Egyptian King is sung by Ryan Speedo Green who only found his place in the world of opera after spending his childhood in a trailer park and juvenile detention. Since the 2012/13 season, he has performed at the Metropolitan nearly every year, and has also performed many times as a member of the Wiener Staatsoper.

The 'Metropolitan Opera Live in HD” transmissions have been made possible through the cooperation of our partner, Cikánek Management.